Prison-movie kitsch is the focus of "Bad Girls Behind Bars," featuring people like "Women in Cages" actress Pam Grier.

Barbies with a thing for Eleanor Roosevelt are the stars of the short "L.A. Dolls."

"Another Gay Movie" is a send-up of another summer teen flick.

Free screenings and special admissions, where noted

OPENING DAY (THURSDAY)

7:30 p.m. — Opening night film, "Pursuit of Equality," directed by Mike Shaw and Geoff Callan, U.S.A., 75 min.; a documentary on San Francisco's new breed of politics, led by Mayor Gavin Newsom, with a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the first same-gender marriage that triggers reaction in the streets and in the courtrooms.

MAY 26

4 p.m. — Free program:

"Calling Nate," directed by Pamela Gawn, Canada, 26 min.; a documentary on Nadia Hluszko as she struggles for gender identity.

"Gender," directed by Daniel Lambert, Belgium, 11 min.; a black comedy in which a plastic surgeon wields a cutting blow to her biological father.

"Yellow for Hermaphrodites: Mani's Story," produced by John Keir, New Zealand, 44 min.; a portrait of Mani Bruce Mitchell, an adult with an intersex condition, and her plight to find her identity and her discovery of self.

"Boy Wonder," directed by Kery Isabel Ramirez, U.S., 12 min.; a look at the double life of Louis — straight male by day and transvestite by night.

"Gay Sex in the '70s," directed by Joseph Lovett, U.S., 68 min.; a documentary on the glory days of gay life in the 1970s, preceding the arrival of AIDS, including opinions and expressions from those who lived the halcyon days of the sexual explosion amid New York's piers, parks and public baths.

"Reporter Zero," directed by Carrie Lozano, U.S., 24 min.; the story of Randy Shilts, the San Francisco journalist who was the first to report on the outbreak of AIDS, well before it became a national crisis of civil rights and public health concerns.

9:30 p.m. — Cinema in Paradise After Dark, "How Do I Look?" by Wolfgang Busch, Kevin Omni and Luna Khan, U.S., 75 min.; guys strike a pose in this documentary on vogueing and the evolution of fashion. A world premiere.

"Fag," directed by Heather Dipinto, Canada, 7 min.; a slur about homophobia or a term of endearment? The movie exposes multiple meanings.

"Colorblind," directed by Apollo Oliva, U.S., 21 min.; the story of Peter, a straight dude with a will-do girlfriend, who finds unexpected desires when a gay Latino neighbor moves upstairs. World premiere.

"Barman," directed by Stanimir Stoykov and Sasa Stajovic, South Africa, 15 min.; a film about Johannesburg's Melville bar scene, where gays romp to the music and yearn for the straight bartenders with washboard stomachs.

"Portfolio: My Life in 12 Frames Per Minute," directed by Carl Collision, South Africa, 2 min.; the filmmaker's photographic background is evident in his concise collage of personal images determined to portray his explanation for the real.

"Overdue Conversation," directed by Charles Lum, U.S., 10 min.; a dialogue about sex, responsibility and HIV, with an attempt to de-objectify the documentary interview by triangulating the audience between two individual video perspective via split-screen images.

"On the Low," directed by Luther Mace, U.S., 16 min.; an exploration of the intimate relationship between two African-American high school boys and the tension that leads to a shoving match.

"David and Stu," directed by Soman Chainani, U.S., 13 min.; a drama about two Scottish boys who meet in the dark and discover the intensity of forbidden adolescent love.

"Murder's a Drag," directed by Nick Poteri, Australia, 8 min.; a crime drama about a serial showgirl/drag queen murderer and how the last survivor, Pussy Glamore, is jeopardized.

4 p.m. — "Little Boy Blues," directed by John McCrite, U.S., 22 min.; a drama on the loss of an AIDS partner and how artistic creativity replaces grief and loneliness and how a rash decision hurls the painter back to his world of memories.

"Meth," a documentary by Todd Ahlberg, U.S., 79 min.; a powerful portrait of the impact of meth within the gay community — its lure and its devastating dark side.

Gala Night, "Boy Culture," directed by Q. Allan Brocka, U.S., 88 min.; a candid confession of "X," a successful male escort, who, after 10 years of sex for pay, faces entanglements with his two roomies and a reclusive elderly client.

MAY 28

4 p.m. — Girlz Shortz, "Who's the Top?" directed by Jennie Livingston, U,S., 23 min.; a drama, from the director of the landmark "Paris Is Burning," about a splintered relationship between two women set against the sizzling world of gangs of women in leather.

"Possessed by Demons," directed by Nokuthula Dlhadlha, South Africa, 4 min.; a personal account of a congregation's medieval and masculine response to a lesbian in their midst and her resolve to live as one of God's creatures.

"Rated F ... (DL)," directed by Donna Lee and Terra Poirier, Canada, 9 min.; a comedy on the intimacies between deviant women, which investigates the secret laws of flatulence in lesbian relationships.

"Succubus," directed by Alison Reid, Canada, 15 min.; a tale about Lilith, a cat-rescuing entrepreneur, and Athena, a genetic engineer, who desperately try to have a baby together, and one attempts to steal sperm.

"Oasis," directed by Hollie Lamarr, U.S., 4 min.; a young alcoholic, dealing with an emotionally dysfunctional family, checks out of rehab with frustrating results.

"Kathleen's Closet," directed by Sheila Jordan, Canada, 14 min.; fate draws two women together and they encounter a key that takes them on a journey through time that unlocks some treasured memories.

"Day One: A Period Piece," a comedy by Pam Dore and Dara Sklar, U.S., 15 min.; a tattooed magazine exec, anticipating a perfect first date, is hurled into a tailspin when she meets an unexpected visitor.

6 p.m. — "Irene Williams: Queen of Lincoln Road," a documentary by Eric Smith, U.S., 23 min.; a portrait of a fiercely independent South Beach Miami woman, who carves a livelihood as a secretary when she buys a second-hand Remington Rand manual typewriter.

"Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema," directed by Lisa Ades and Lesli Klainberg, U.S., 82 min.; a documentary on the birth and evolution of gay and lesbian cinema, from seasoned filmmakers and critics alike, from the 1960s to the present, and how some artists have cutting-edge roles today.